University of Technology Sydney, School of Medical and Molecular Biosciences, Centre for Forensic Science, Forensic Face and Body Mapping Unit

OBJECTIVE: To identify and characterise unique or distinct variables of the human nose through morphometric assessments for application of “Forensic Face Mapping” identification.

METHODS: Features of the nose were anthropometrically measured and morphologically classified from facial images of 100 subjects (56 females, 44 males). From these subjects, 300 images of various smile phases (100 neutral, 100 closed mouth smile, 100 open mouth smile) were assessed. Statistical analyses were performed to examine the existence of morphometric features of the nose that are: [1] unique or distinct, [2] correlated to different smile phases, [3] representative of different racial groups, [4] characteristic of ageing, and [5] indicative of sexual dimorphism. The practical application of nose mapping was examined in a case study involving matching faces on identity document photographs with images from the established database.

RESULTS: A total of 9 anthropometric points with 14 measurements and a total of 36 morphological features with 85 classifications were recorded. Of these, 9 morphological classifications were found to be distinct. Morphometric variation was found to be statistically significant between each subject, different facial expressions, racial groups, age categories and sex. To classify unique variables of the nose, further study involving larger subject numbers is required. To further explore correlations of variables with respect to race, sex and age, a population group of wider racial diversity, equal ratio of sex and age representation is recommended. The case study provided an insight into possible practical applications of this research.

CONCLUSION: The study successfully identified characteristics of the nose that are distinct. Significant variation in the anthropometric measurements and morphological variables between individuals provide evidence for potential use of “Nose Mapping” as a novel forensic identification technique.